Moral Will & Moral Skill - Janitor's Practical Wisdom

Barry Schwartz talks about virtue and morality in a fresh and current way. He weaves Obama's call for virtue in the midst of the current market crisis. In particular he talks about how the rigid adherence to rules by professionals and other workers breeds mediocrity. He says that the way to NOT teach morality is to make it an ethics course. Ethics course are often at the margins of the core curriculum or corporate mandate. Instead he stresses at individual responsibility and application of practical wisdom in our daily lives.

He uses the example of an inspiring hospital janitor - Mike who stopped mopping the floor had stopped when one of the patients had gotten out of his bed to exercise and stretch. And how another janitor Luke washed a patient's room twice as his relative was sleeping over and he wanted to make him comfortable. He broke a rule but he did it in service of hospital care. These examples improves the quality of patient care and improves the lives of people. Kindness, care and empathy according to these janitors is an integral part of the job. Even though the job description does not in any way refer to these qualities. Wise person is like a jazz musician who always knows how to improvise and serve his audience.

Practical Wisdom = Moral Skill + Moral Will. A wise person knows when and how to make an exception to the rule. Real world problems are always ill defined and vague. No one rule will work. Context is always changing. A wise person use know how to use his moral skills to serve other people not to manipulate them. Wisdom depends on experience. And this does not refer to technical experience but contextual experience. You need (a) time to get to know the people u serve; (b) permission to improvise and try new things and fail; and (c) to be mentored by wise teachers.

We are always teaching. Someone is always watching. So be mindful to what you are saying or doing. You can be a source of inspiration and moral exemplar to someone else. Even if that someone else does not explicitly acknowledge you or thank you for being a role model. Obama appealed to virtue and hope. Most people want to do the right thing, in the right way for the right reasons. So if we start paying attention to what we do and how we do it. Develop wisdom rather than suppressing it. A wise person is made not born.